Hello, I am Elsie.
I'm not new here, but I've had some significant changes recently, so this is a new blog with a new stable.
Faewood has closed, the Faewood horses are scattered on the wind. Most back to their home stables, some to new places. We wish them and their owners the best of luck with their careers

Faewood was never a big business, only a quirky boarding stable for the endurance-minded rider. The rider-horse pairs were a point of pride and a crucial factor in the success of the stable, but now they only mean that Faewood could disappear so much faster. Once it was announced that closure was definite, it became every man for himself as riders packed up their gear, organised trailers, and set off for new horizons. It's an aching feeling, watching all the personality being sorted into boxes and taken away from a place which was so much a home. All the rooms are bigger than you remember, the familiar paths of moving around the furniture dissolve into echoing floorboards and vast empty walls.

Also there suddenly isn't enough space in the suitcase for the alcohol. Best dispose of it responsibly.

"What are you going to do, Lou?"
"Back to normal life? It hasn't been so long. I haven't forgotten how to live in a city."
"What's there for you?"
"Bookshop. Family bookshop. I thought I'd escaped when I came out here but I can go back. Stupid bloody bookshop. Filled with bloody books. And people."
"You're a weirdo, Lou. Weirdolou."
"You're drunk, Elsie. Dru...l..sie..nk??"
"Why are you going back to the bookshop if you hate it so much?"
"Well this nutty horse lady loaned me this nutty grey filly to ride and I quite like her but I can't goddamn afford to buy her."
"Woe is you."
"Woe is me. So, I figure, I can blackmail this lady into letting me keep on loaning her horse while I save up to buy her. Bookshop is a job, and there are some old stable... things... out the back. Old carriage stable. Could clean it out, keep filly there. No board fees."
"You really thought this through."
"I've lots of practice at blackmail, miss nutty horse lady."
"What's step one?"
"Step one is order more drinks... and try to think of something."
"Cats, Lou."
"eh?"
"Bribe me with cats. Blackmail me with... lack of cats?"
"Have a cat, Elsie."
"Don't mind if I do."
"You're awfully pushy."
"When push comes to shove... steal the cats?"
"Amen."
"Elsie, I've just had a great idea. You can run the bookshop."
"You're a genius, Lou."
"You can run the bookshop, and keep an eye on nutty horse."
"Not sure if you just witnessed my current business all crashy and burny."
"No, no. No. Hear me out. Books are easier than cats. Horses. Books are easier than horses. Don't need to feed them."
"I'm not sure. Awful lot of books about food."
"They don't. They don't even shit. No mucking out required."
"Sold."

"So this is where you want to keep your precious loan horse."
"It could be worse?"
"It could be on fire."
"It's mostly brick."
"Oh good. At least we can't set it on fire."

Elsie:
"Nutty Grey Filly" has arrived. I think it was worth coming with Lou just to see Lasair's last foal in her new home. Watching all the old Faewood horses disappear to the four corners of the world was more worrying than I expected, since I now have no idea where they are or how their careers will go. Being here with Labascatille is a huge relief.

She seems well! A few weeks in quarantine haven't done her any harm and she has a clean bill of health from the import & immigration vets. The future is real, the bloodline continues. Honestly I've no interest in taking her back from Lou, she's too much like her sire, it breaks my heart. Tough but flighty, always an inch from disappearing into the horizon after getting a fright.

I can't get over all the details in your buildings and how real it looks! It's pretty amazing actually! The new filly is adorable! I love how smooth her coat is and all the dapples. Her blaze is so unique too.

"You need a horse."
"I don't need a horse."
"You're a horse person, Elsie. You know how this goes. You either get a horse in real life or you join a confusing online community which worships horses."
"Excus-"
"It's not worth it! Don't join the dark side! Think of Padme!"
"Padme?"
"That's not important. You need a horse."
"Fine. I want this horse. This. Exact. Horse."

.:.: Something of a delay. Possibly a number of months. No-one is counting :.:.

"Well Elsie-"
"!!!!"
"It turns out that horse was MSE Fragile Ego."
"!!!!"
"And the owner of Morning Star Equestrian was a bit of a fan of Faewood."
"Oh!"
"And they're not giving him away."
"Well fair enough, I wouldn't give him away, he's awesome and-"
"BUT they did have a son of his they were willing to give to you, as the owner of Faewood."
"Holy shit."
"So yeah."
"I have a horse."
"You do."
"I have this horse?"
"His name is Tatterdemalion."
"I have a giant horse called Tatterdemalion."
"You're really taking this very well."
"It's 2am. Tell me again in the morning."
(Its all going rather well so far.)

"Remember he's just a baby, Elsie."
"I'll remember - but he'll still be awesome!"
"I'm worried you're not taking this seriously."
"My horse is a god."
"A baby god. Just a baby god."
"Baby gods aren't a thing. Wasn't Zeus born as an adult?"
"What are you even on about, that's not true. And we're talking about a young horse! Don't expect him to keep his head."
"He'll be fine!"

"I'm not saying I told you so but-"
"Shut up Lou. He tried"
"He looks like a psycopath."
"We went clear apart from that one jump he didn't like!"
".. which he destroyed"
"He's a baby. Babies destroy things, it's what they do."

There is some work to be done before Tatter reminds anyone of his brilliant competition sire.